Written Answers Monday 13 November 2006

Scottish Executive

Agriculture

Ms Rosemary Byrne (South of Scotland) (Sol): To ask the Scottish Executive how much land has been made available by large estates to young entrants into farming in each year since 1999.

Ross Finnie: I regret that the Environment and Rural Development Department does not capture information on the scale of businesses letting land nor the status of those entering agriculture in any detail that would allow me to answer to the question.

Alzheimer's Disease

Euan Robson (Roxburgh and Berwickshire) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what account has been taken of any savings to the NHS and local authorities in social care costs as a result of people being able to lead independent lives for longer if donepezil, galantamine and rivastigmine were to be prescribed to those suffering from the mild form of Alzheimer’s disease.

Lewis Macdonald: The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) process for developing its multiple technology appraisals takes factors such as wider benefits to patients’ families and society into account when it is appropriate to do so.

  NICE’s economic modelling on its work for the appraisal of donepezil, galantamine and rivastigmine included an assessment of the impact of benefits accruing to carers. The NICE process also assessed the impact of alternative cost estimates (including a scenario in which 100% of the costs of institutional care was met by the NHS), extra benefits from using the drugs and sensitivity analysis on mortality and behavioural symptoms.

  All the information pertaining to the NICE multiple technology appraisal process, including responses to the two consultations on drugs used in Alzheimer’s disease, can be found at www.nice.org.uk.

Chiropody

Ms Maureen Watt (North East Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what the (a) mean and (b) median waiting times for appointments with a chiropodist have been in each year since 1999, broken down by NHS board area.

Mr Andy Kerr: Information on chiropody/podiatry waiting times is not routinely collected nationally.

  A one-off census of allied health professional (AHP) services was carried out on 14 September 2005 to help ascertain the magnitude, variety and diversity of AHPs’ caseloads. A broad range of information, including information on waiting times, was gathered, and the report Waiting for AHP Services - A Review Of The Numbers Waiting And Possible Waiting Times For An Appointment With An AHP was published on 6 July 2006. This is available at:

  http://www.isdscotland.org/isd/collect2.jsp?pContentID=3896&p_applic=CCC&p_service=Content.show&.

  The report provides summary data concerning waiting times and numbers of patients waiting for appointments on a particular day. The data suggests that 94% of patients could expect a first appointment within 18 weeks and 75% of patients could expect a first appointment in less than 10 weeks if they are to attend a clinic, six weeks if they are to be seen at home and two weeks if they are to be seen while an in-patient.

Crime

Stewart Stevenson (Banff and Buchan) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many individuals died as a result of being (a) shot and (b) stabbed in each of the last 10 years for which figures are available.

George Lyon: The figures in the following tables have been extracted from death registration records coded by the General Register Office for Scotland (GROS). The WHO International Classification of Diseases used by GROS does not distinguish deaths from "stabbing" from other deaths resulting from assaults by cutting and piercing. However, it is believed that the overwhelming majority of deaths shown in the following table (b) resulted from stab wounds. The tables do not include accidental shootings or stabbings, or suicides.

  (a) Assault by Firearms1

  

 1996
 1997
 1998
 1999
 2000
 2001
 2002
 2003
 2004
 2005


 26
 5
 8
 7
 4
 5
 3
 2
 6
 7



  (b) Assault by Cutting and Piercing Instrument/Sharp Object2

  

1996
1997
1998
1999
2000
2001
2002
2003
2004
2005


57
37
42
72
45
48
68
55
76
34



  Notes:

  International Classification of Diseases (ICD): categories included:

  1. 1996 -1999, ICD 9th Revision, E965.0 - E965.4; 2000-2005, ICD 10th Revision, X93 - X95.

  2. 1996 -1999, ICD 9th Revision, E966; 2000-2005, ICD 10th Revision, X99.

Deprivation

Ms Rosemary Byrne (South of Scotland) (Sol): To ask the Scottish Executive, in light of the figures in Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation 2006: General Report , what measures it is taking to reduce the number of working-age people with no qualifications.

Allan Wilson: Through our lifelong learning strategy: Life Through Learning; Learning Through Life we are taking a wide range of measures to ensure that all Scots have the opportunity to gain the skills that they need to achieve their potential and play an active role in society. We have taken steps to support and encourage people to return to learning, including our Individual Learning Account (ILA) schemes, the Scottish Union Learning Fund, providing advice and guidance through Learndirect Scotland and our work on adult literacy and numeracy, which has helped over 137,000 literacies learners to date. We launched our Employability Framework for Scotland this summer, and we have also recently launched our NEET (not in education, employment or training) strategy, More Choices, More Chances, which aims to ensure that all of our young people, regardless of their circumstances, have the opportunity to succeed.

Deprivation

Ms Rosemary Byrne (South of Scotland) (Sol): To ask the Scottish Executive, in light of the figures in Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation 2006: General Report , what measures it is taking to reduce the number of people aged 16 to 18 not in full-time education.

Allan Wilson: Tackling the issue of moving young people into education, employment or training is a key priority for the Scottish Executive. More Choices, More Chances, the strategy to reduce the proportion of young people in Scotland who are not in education, employment or training, was published in June and the Executive is working closing with all local authorities, particularly those in the seven NEET (not in education, employment or training) target areas (Glasgow, West Dunbartonshire, Inverclyde, North Ayrshire, East Ayrshire, Clackmannanshire and Dundee) to increase the numbers of young people in positive destinations post-16.

Deprivation

Ms Rosemary Byrne (South of Scotland) (Sol): To ask the Scottish Executive, in light of the figures in Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation 2006: General Report, what measures it is taking to reduce the number of families in overcrowded housing.

Malcolm Chisholm: The Executive is doing a great deal to provide more affordable housing across Scotland and reduce the pressure on existing stock. Through our current programme, we are investing some £1.2 billion in affordable housing between 2005 and 2008, which will provide over 16,500 new homes for affordable rent and nearly 5,000 for low cost home ownership.

  It is important that local authorities assess and understand housing needs in their areas, as this enables the Executive’s funding for affordable housing to be allocated in the most appropriate ways. Where Local Housing Strategies demonstrate a need for larger family homes, funding for affordable housing can be targeted accordingly by local authorities, in consultation with Communities Scotland. Communities Scotland’s guidance on Local Housing Strategies already advises local authorities to develop an understanding of current and future provision in this way. Once local needs have been identified, local authorities can then work with developers and Registered Social Landlords to ensure that the right types and sizes of homes are built in their areas.

Deprivation

Ms Rosemary Byrne (South of Scotland) (Sol): To ask the Scottish Executive, in light of the figures in Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation 2006: General Report , what measures it is taking to reduce the number of children dependent on a recipient of income support.

Malcolm Chisholm: The Scottish Executive has in place a number of different measures across many departments which assist families who are on the lowest incomes, including those on Income Support.

  These include the Working for Families Programme (helping to remove barriers to work for parents seeking to return to employment), a range of measure to be taken forward through our employability framework, Workforce Plus, continuing investment in Sure Start Scotland, measures to improve financial inclusion, and support for advice services to lone parents.

  Many of these measures aim to assist those families to come off benefits where possible, and move into and sustain work, thereby increasing their income and improving their quality of life.

Deprivation

Ms Rosemary Byrne (South of Scotland) (Sol): To ask the Scottish Executive, in light of the figures in Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation 2006: General Report , what measures it is taking to reduce the number of children dependent on a recipient of job seekers allowance.

Allan Wilson: Help to find employment for Jobseeker’s Allowance recipients, including those with children, is the responsibility of the UK Government and is provided by the Department for Work and Pensions through a range of Jobcentre Plus services and programmes.

  The Scottish Executive helps Jobseeker’s Allowance recipients through the Training for Work programme, and the provision of free tuition in part-time further and higher education for eligible students who are registered job seekers. In addition, £50 million Working for Families funding is available in a selection of local authority areas over 2004-08 to support parents in disadvantaged areas or groups to progress towards and into employment. Allocations of funding are based on the numbers of children living in households dependent on income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance and Income Support.

Direct Payments

Jackie Baillie (Dumbarton) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what support is given to local authorities and others to improve and encourage the uptake of direct payments for community care.

Lewis Macdonald: Direct payments are a means to allow an individual to purchase the support that would otherwise be arranged by the local authority, and must be made from within existing overall resources. However, in recognition of additional costs incurred whilst direct payments schemes are developed in tandem with more traditional services, the 2004 spending review allocated an additional £1.8 million expenditure during 2006 to Scottish local authorities and £2 million annually thereafter to bring direct payments fully into mainstream service provision.

  In addition, the Scottish Executive awarded £210,000 in grants in 2006-07 for information, support work and training to national direct payments support organisations such as the Scottish Consortium of Direct Payments Support Organisation (SCDPSO), a partnership of the Centres for Integrated Living, and the Scottish Personal Assistant Employers Network (SPAEN).

Employment

Murdo Fraser (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive how many people were employed in the (a) fishing, (b) farming and (c) manufacturing sector in (i) 1997, (ii) 1999 and (iii) the last year for which figures are available.

Ross Finnie: The following table shows the number of people employed in the fishing, farming and manufacturing sector in the years, 1997, 1999 and latest available.

  

 Industry
 1997
 1999
 Latest Available


 Fishing*
 8,194
 7,330
 4,971 (2005)


 Agriculture**
 68,830
 69,417
 66,854 (2006)


 Manufacturing
 327,000 (1998)
 315,000
 236,000(2004)



  Notes:

  *The number of fishermen employed on Scottish based vessels.

  **The total number of people employed in agriculture (includes total number of occupiers, spouses, and employees working, full-time, part-time, seasonally and casually).

Ferry Services

Jim Mather (Highlands and Islands) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive when the invitation to tender for the Clyde and Hebrides lifeline ferry routes will be issued.

Tavish Scott: The Executive is currently finalising the arrangements for the issue of the Invitation to Tender (ITT) for the Clyde and Hebrides Ferry Services. It is the intention to issue the ITT to the tenderers before the end of the year.

Fireworks

Donald Gorrie (Central Scotland) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will collate figures for injuries arising from accidents with fireworks or their misuse in Scotland in the three weeks around Guy Fawkes Day, in light of the decision by the Department of Trade and Industry not to collate figures for the United Kingdom in 2006.

Mr Andy Kerr: As the Scottish figures on fireworks injuries are collected as part of the Department of Trade and Industry Fireworks Injuries Enquiry, and DTI have made the decision not to carry out this survey for 2006, no figures will be collated for Scotland for 2006.

Food Additives

Dr Elaine Murray (Dumfries) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has any concerns about the dietary intake of iodine in the Scottish population.

Lewis Macdonald: The Food Standards Agency Scotland has informed me that the average intake of iodine in Great Britain as a whole is above the current recommended intake, and that it has no concerns about the dietary intake of iodine in the Scottish population.

Further and Higher Education

Ms Rosemary Byrne (South of Scotland) (Sol): To ask the Scottish Executive how many students specialising in English did not gain an immediate placement at the start of their postgraduate teacher training course in September 2006.

Peter Peacock: In total there are 3,362 (1,599 primary and 1,763 secondary) student teachers in Scotland undertaking one-year professional graduate diploma in education (PGDE) courses. All have been allocated a school place for their first six-week block school placement which started on 30 October 2006.

  There were 13 students on the PGDE (Secondary: English) course at Moray House School of Education who were unable to be placed in a school for their prior observation week which was due to commence on 25 September. However, any missed observation experience is either being added to, or incorporated in, the first six week block placement.

Further and Higher Education

Ms Rosemary Byrne (South of Scotland) (Sol): To ask the Scottish Executive how many foreign fee-paying students specialising in English did not gain an immediate placement at the start of their postgraduate teacher training course in September 2006.

Peter Peacock: In total there are 3,362 (1,599 primary and 1,763 secondary) student teachers in Scotland undertaking one-year professional graduate diploma in education (PGDE) courses. All have been allocated a school place for their first six-week block school placement which started on 30 October 2006.

  There were 13 students on the PGDE (English) course at Moray House School of Education who were unable to be placed in a school for their prior Observation week which was due to commence on 25 September.

  We do not hold information on how many were home students and how many were from outwith Scotland.

Higher Education

Mrs Nanette Milne (North East Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what estimate it has made of the level of graduate unemployment among (a) physiotherapists, (b) nurses, (c) midwives and (d) occupational therapists in each year since 1999.

Mr Andy Kerr: This information is not held centrally.

Housing

Alex Neil (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what its estimates are of the costs associated with the second stage transfer (SST) of Glasgow Housing Association’s housing stock and whether it has earmarked any monies for SST and, if so, how much, from which budgets and for which financial years.

Malcolm Chisholm: The Joint Team on financial issues, which includes officials from Glasgow Housing Association, Communities Scotland, Glasgow City Council and the purchasers, is currently considering the costs associated with second stage transfers of Glasgow Housing Association stock. The work of the joint team will be finalised soon and will be made available in due course.

  Communities Scotland has earmarked £1,045,000 for seed corn funding to support local housing organisations in taking forward their second stage transfer proposals. This funding has been available over the course of the 2004-05 to 2006-07 financial years.

Housing

Ms Sandra White (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive when Communities Scotland’s inspection of Glasgow Housing Association will take place.

Malcolm Chisholm: I have asked Angiolina Foster, Chief Executive of Communities Scotland, to respond. Her response is as follows:

  Communities Scotland started the inspection of Glasgow Housing Association on 29 September 2006 when we issued our request to the Association for an inspection submission.

Housing

Ms Sandra White (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive when the report of Communities Scotland’s inspection of Glasgow Housing Association will be published.

Malcolm Chisholm: I have asked Angiolina Foster, Chief Executive of Communities Scotland, to respond. Her response is as follows:

  Communities Scotland plans to publish the final report about our inspection of Glasgow Housing Association in late summer 2007.

Housing

Ms Sandra White (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will provide a breakdown of how the £100 million committed over a ten-year period to assist owners who are required to take part in Glasgow Housing Association’s investment programme will be spent.

Malcolm Chisholm: I have asked Angiolina Foster, Chief Executive of Communities Scotland, to respond. Her response is as follows:

  This money is being used to provide financial assistance to owner occupiers affected by Glasgow Housing Association’s investment programme. To date over £7 million has been used to provide financial assistance to over 1,300 households in support of investment such as common close, fabric and environmental works. While the Scottish Executive will agree the profile of grant annually with Glasgow Housing Association we currently anticipate the following spend profile:

  GHA Owner Occupier Grant Drawdown – Projections (Million)

  

 Year
 4
 5
 6
 7
 8
 9
 10


 2006-07
 2007-08
 2008-09
 2009-10
 2010-11
 2011-12
 2012-13


O/OGrant
£16
£15
£15
£15
£12
£12
£8

International Development

Dr Elaine Murray (Dumfries) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether its International Development Fund is currently closed and, if so, when it will re-open.

Patricia Ferguson: The Main Grant Scheme of the International Development Fund (IDF) is currently closed after 24 Scottish based charities and non-governmental organisations were recently given awards from the second round of the Main Grant Scheme.

  However, the Small Grants Scheme, also part of the International Development Fund, for projects up to a value of £20,000, is now open for applications. Details can be found on the Scottish Executive’s website at:

  http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/Government/International-Relations/internationaldevelopment/internationaldevelopment.

  We hope to make an announcement on the next round of the IDF Main Grant Scheme in the near future.

Justice

Margaret Smith (Edinburgh West) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive when it will report on the outcome of the domestic abuse court pilot service at Glasgow Sheriff Court.

Malcolm Chisholm: The evaluation report on the domestic abuse court pilot service is due to be finalised in spring 2007 and will be published after ministers have considered it. Executive funding for both the dedicated Procurator Fiscal and the ASSIST project has been extended until October 2007 to take account of the evaluation timetable and in line with the wishes of the local steering group.

Justice

Margaret Smith (Edinburgh West) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what the results so far have been in respect of its alcohol test purchasing scheme.

Lewis Macdonald: Figures available for the week beginning 23 October show that Fife Constabulary have tested over 540 licensed premises out of a total of around 900 in the Fife area and that to date about 74 sales were made.

Land Reform

Brian Adam (Aberdeen North) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether access rights granted to public bodies such as the Forestry Commission across privately owned roads and paths to private homes confer general public access rights to walkers and horse riders to such roads and paths.

Rhona Brankin: Rights of access pertaining to the national forest estate, managed by Forestry Commission Scotland, are acquired by specific legal agreement to serve specific parts of the estate. These rights will include public access for recreation, such as walking or horse riding. In addition, the Land Reform (Scotland) Act 2003 gives the public statutory access rights for open-air recreation to most land and inland water in Scotland.

Medical Records

Brian Adam (Aberdeen North) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what progress has been made towards the establishment of an NHS national database of patient details to include patients’ medical history.

Mr Andy Kerr: An important outcome of Delivering for Health is to be a comprehensive health information system built around an Electronic Health Record. Deployment of such a system is expected to be completed in 2010.

  The precise content of the national Electronic Health Record will evolve in consultation with patients and clinicians. Elements already in place and expected to contribute to the Electronic Health Record include:

  Digital images such as x-rays stored in Picture Archiving and Communications Systems (PACS) now in early stages of roll out.

  Emergency Care Summaries (ECS) with current medication and allergies now available for 4.4 million patients.

  Modern information support systems for accident and emergency departments.

  Electronic transmission of laboratory test requests and results between primary and secondary care via SCIStore.

  Security of electronic transmissions under SCIGateway.

  We are building on this progress by scoping what needs to be procured to meet our eHealth requirements which include:

  Patient access to the record and a secure and managed facility to update it

  Electronic prescribing and medicines administration.

  Appointment scheduling and clinic management

  Primary care systems to meet the full range of community and primary care needs.

  Infrastructure projects such as systems for patient and staff identification.

  We have also established a Scottish Centre for Telehealth to provide practical help to NHS boards as they seek to realise the potential of telehealth development projects.

Medical Records

Brian Adam (Aberdeen North) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what rights patients will have to limit access to their medical records stored on the NHS national database of patient details.

Mr Andy Kerr: Personal health information is protected by the common law duty of confidentiality and the Data Protection Act 1998. Under that legal framework patients have the right to choose whether information about an episode of care can be disclosed to other clinical staff not directly responsible for that episode of care. Patients do, therefore, have rights to limit access to their medical records stored on national NHS electronic databases such as the developing Electronic Health Record which is an expected outcome of Delivering for Health .

  In order to enable patients to make such a decision the clinician must ensure that the patient is given sufficient information not only to know what their options are, but also what the consequences are of opting out of sharing their medical records with other clinical staff with a need to know.

  The Emergency Care Summary, which is an early component of the Electronic Health Record, enables patients to decide not to have their record held on the database, and where they do decide their record should be held on the database their explicit consent is sought for each access to that record. These rights have been set out clearly set out in the leaflet Your Emergency Care Summary: what does it mean for you recently delivered to Scottish households and GP practices.

Ministerial Visits

Ms Rosemary Byrne (South of Scotland) (Sol): To ask the Scottish Executive how many ministerial visits have taken place in the south of Scotland since 2003.

Tommy Sheridan (Glasgow) (Sol): To ask the Scottish Executive how many ministerial visits have taken place in Glasgow since 2003.

Mr Tom McCabe: The information requested could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.

Mortality

Stewart Stevenson (Banff and Buchan) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what assessment it has made of the extent to which mortality rates for (a) cancer, (b) coronary heart disease, (c) stroke and (d) diabetes in each primary care area reflect the incidence of disease in that area.

Mr Andy Kerr: Regular updates of incidence and mortality for cancer, coronary heart disease and stroke by NHS board are published on the NHS National Services Scotland Information Services Division (ISD) website at http://www.isdscotland.org/isd/183.html . This data is not broken down to Primary Care and Community Healthcare Partnership level.

  (a) Data available for cancer incidence (1980-2004) and mortality (1980- 2005) show that more and more people are now living with cancer. Latest available data shows a decrease in cancer mortality rates for people aged under 75 of 15.8% over 10 years. If this trend continues the target to reduce the age standardised mortality rate from all cancers for those less than 75 years by 20% between 1995 and 2010 will be met.

  (b) Data available for coronary heart disease incidence (1996-2005) fell by 25.6% for men and 50.8% for women and mortality (1996-2005) shows a reduction in mortality rate for the under 75s of 46%. If this trend continues the target to achieve a 60% reduction in mortality rate from coronary heart disease amongst under 75s between 1995 and 2010 should be met.

  (c) Data available for cerebrovascular disease (including stroke) incidence (1996- 2005) fell by 21.5% for men and 18.2% for women and mortality (1996-2005) shows a reduction in mortality rate for the under 75s of 45%. If this trend continues the target to achieve a 50% reduction in mortality rate from cerebrovascular disease (including stroke) amongst under 75s between 1995 and 2010 should be met.

  (d) Reliable incidence and mortality rates are not available for diabetes. Death certification underestimates the burden of mortality from diabetes as diabetes is often not recorded as contributing to death.

Mortality

Stewart Stevenson (Banff and Buchan) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many deaths linked to hypothermia there have been in each year since 1997 and, of these, how many were of individuals aged (a) 60 to 64, (b) 65 to 79 and (c) 80 and over, broken down by (i) NHS board area and (ii) parliamentary constituency.

George Lyon: Information on deaths involving hypothermia is given for NHS board areas in the following table. Mentions of hypothermia associated with medical conditions rather than low environmental temperature have been excluded. Because of the small numbers involved, a breakdown by parliamentary constituency has not been shown.

  Deaths Involving Hypothermia1, by NHS Board Area, 1997-2005 (All Ages)

  

 
 1997
 1998
 1999
 2000
 2001
 2002
 2003
 2004
 2005


 Scotland
 60
 37
 44
 34
 50
 50
 34
 38
 38


 Ayrshire and Arran
 2
 1
 2
 3
 1
 5
 1
 2
 -


 Borders
 1
 1
 1
 -
 -
 1
 -
 1
 1


 Dumfries and Galloway
 -
 -
 1
 2
 -
 -
 1
 1
 1


 Fife
 1
 4
 -
 -
 1
 3
 1
 -
 1


 Forth Valley
 3
 1
 4
 2
 2
 2
 -
 2
 3


 Grampian
 6
 1
 3
 -
 4
 4
 2
 4
 7


 Greater Glasgow and Clyde
 22
 11
 16
 9
 23
 20
 15
 12
 9


 Highland
 3
 4
 2
 0
 1
 3
 0
 7
 3


 Lanarkshire
 9
 5
 5
 1
 3
 2
 2
 1
 2


 Lothian
 12
 5
 5
 11
 10
 7
 8
 5
 5


 Orkney
 -
 -
 -
 -
 -
 -
 -
 -
 -


 Shetland
 -
 -
 -
 -
 -
 -
 -
 -
 -


 Tayside
 1
 3
 3
 5
 4
 3
 3
 3
 6


 Western Isles
 -
 1
 2
 1
 1
 -
 1
 -
 -



  

 (a) Aged 60 – 64
 1997
 1998
 1999
 2000
 2001
 2002
 2003
 2004
 2005


 Scotland
 4
 5
 5
 5
 3
 1
 2
 2
 1


 Ayrshire and Arran
 -
 -
 -
 1
 -
 -
 -
 -
 -


 Borders
 -
 -
 -
 -
 -
 -
 -
 -
 -


 Dumfries and Galloway
 -
 -
 -
 1
 -
 -
 -
 -
 -


 Fife
 -
 1
 -
 -
 -
 -
 -
 -
 -


 Forth Valley
 -
 -
 -
 -
 -
 -
 -
 1
 -


 Grampian
 -
 -
 -
 -
 -
 1
 -
 -
 -


 Greater Glasgow and Clyde
 1
 -
 3
 2
 1
 -
 1
 1
 -


 Highland
 -
 2
 1
 -
 -
 -
 -
 -
 -


 Lanarkshire
 1
 1
 -
 -
 -
 -
 1
 -
 1


 Lothian
 1
 1
 -
 -
 1
 -
 -
 -
 -


 Orkney
 -
 -
 -
 -
 -
 -
 -
 -
 -


 Shetland
 -
 -
 -
 -
 -
 -
 -
 -
 -


 Tayside
 1
 -
 1
 1
 1
 -
 -
 -
 -


 Western Isles
 -
 -
 -
 -
 -
 -
 -
 -
 -



  

 (b) Aged 65 - 79
1997
1998
1999
2000
2001
2002
2003
2004
2005


 Scotland
 14
 8
 17
 11
 10
 11
 10
 9
 9


 Ayrshire and Arran
 -
 -
 -
 -
 -
 -
 1
 -
 -


 Borders
 1
 -
 -
 -
 -
 -
 -
 1
 -


 Dumfries and Galloway
 -
 -
 -
 -
 -
 -
 -
 -
 -


 Fife
 -
 1
 -
 -
 1
 1
 -
 -
 -


 Forth Valley
 -
 -
 -
 1
 1
 1
 -
 1
 2


 Grampian
 1
 -
 1
 -
 -
 1
 1
 3
 3


 Greater Glasgow and Clyde
 8
 3
 7
 3
 5
 3
 4
 2
 2


 Highland
 -
 1
 1
 -
 -
 -
 -
 1
 1


 Lanarkshire
 2
 1
 4
 -
 -
 -
 -
 -
 -


 Lothian
 2
 2
 1
 4
 2
 4
 4
 1
 1


 Orkney
 -
 -
 -
 -
 -
 -
 -
 -
 -


 Shetland
 -
 -
 -
 -
 -
 -
 -
 -
 -


 Tayside
 -
 -
 2
 2
 1
 1
 -
 -
 -


 Western Isles
 -
 -
 1
 1
 -
 -
 -
 -
 -



  

 (c) Aged 80 and over
 1997
 1998
 1999
 2000
 2001
 2002
 2003
 2004
 2005


 Scotland
 20
 16
 11
 15
 17
 22
 17
 17
 14


 Ayrshire and Arran
 2
 -
 1
 2
 -
 3
 -
 2
 -


 Borders
 -
 1
 -
 -
 -
 1
 -
 -
 1


 Dumfries and Galloway
 -
 -
 1
 1
 -
 -
 1
 1
 -


 Fife
 1
 1
 -
 -
 -
 1
 1
 -
 1


 Forth Valley
 -
 1
 3
 1
 -
 -
 -
 -
 1


 Grampian
 2
 1
 -
 -
 4
 -
 1
 -
 1


 Greater Glasgow and Clyde
 5
 6
 4
 4
 8
 15
 8
 6
 2


 Highland
 1
 -
 -
 -
 -
 -
 -
 3
 1


 Lanarkshire
 2
 1
 -
 1
 -
 1
 -
 -
 -


 Lothian
 7
 2
 2
 5
 4
 -
 2
 2
 3


 Orkney
 -
 -
 -
 -
 -
 -
 -
 -
 -


 Shetland
 -
 -
 -
 -
 -
 -
 -
 -
 -


 Tayside
 -
 3
 -
 1
 1
 1
 3
 3
 4


 Western Isles
 -
 -
 -
 -
 -
 -
 1
 -
 -



  Source: 2000-05, International Classification of Diseases, 10th Revision, X31 - Exposure to excessive natural cold.

  Note: 1. 1997-99, International Classification of Diseases, 9th Revision, E901 - Excessive cold, excluding E905.1(of manmade origin).

NHS Staff

Stewart Stevenson (Banff and Buchan) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many junior doctor training posts there will be in each specialty under the Modernising Medical Careers initiative.

Mr Andy Kerr: The numbers of training posts in each specialty in August 2007, when the final phase of Modernising Medical Careers is implemented, are yet to be finalised. Specialty training numbers will be published in the National Workforce Plan in December 2006, a copy of which will be placed in the Scottish Parliament Information Centre.

NHS Staff

Stewart Stevenson (Banff and Buchan) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many (a) trainee and (b) qualified physiotherapists are not employed by the NHS.

Mr Andy Kerr: This information is not held centrally.

Nuclear Waste

Tommy Sheridan (Glasgow) (Sol): To ask the Scottish Executive what rail lines in Scotland are used for the transportation of nuclear material.

Tommy Sheridan (Glasgow) (Sol): To ask the Scottish Executive what marine routes, including harbours and piers, in Scotland are used for the transportation of nuclear material.

Tommy Sheridan (Glasgow) (Sol): To ask the Scottish Executive what road routes in Scotland are used for the transportation of nuclear material.

Tavish Scott: The transportation of irradiated or spent nuclear fuel is governed by the stringent internationally-agreed standards recommended by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the agency appointed by the United Nations to promote safe, secure and peaceful nuclear technologies worldwide. The transportation of spent nuclear fuel is carried out in a secure manner, in accordance with stringent security regulations, the Nuclear Industries Security Regulations 2003 (NISR). These regulations are administered and enforced by the Office for Civil Nuclear Security (OCNS), who regulate the security of such movements of spent nuclear fuel. These matters are reserved.

Prison Service

Margaret Mitchell (Central Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive how many attacks were reported on prison wardens, broken down by prison, in (a) 1997, (b) 1998, (c) 1999, (d) 2000, (e) 2001, (f) 2002, (g) 2003, (h) 2004 and (i) 2005 and how many there have been in 2006.

Cathy Jamieson: I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service (SPS) to respond. His response is as follows:

  The SPS does not employ any "wardens". Data on serious assaults by prisoners on SPS staff are contained in SPS Annual Reports which are available in the Scottish Parliament Information Centre (Bib. numbers 39629, 39630, 34446, 4045, 7929, 18239, 22587, 28640, 34075 and 37154). Figures for 2006-07 will be published in the next annual report.

Prison Service

Margaret Mitchell (Central Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what the absence rates of prison wardens were, broken down by prison, in (a) 1997, (b) 1998, (c) 1999, (d) 2000, (e) 2001, (f) 2002, (g) 2003, (h) 2004 and (i) 2005 and what the figures are for 2006.

Cathy Jamieson: I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service (SPS) to respond. His response is as follows:

  The information requested is contained in the following table. The information is not available for 1997, 1998 and 1999. The table provides the number of days lost per prison in each of the years as recorded in the SPS Human Resource Information System.

  

 Location
 2000-01
 2001-02
 2002-03
 2003-04
 2004-05
 2005-06


 Aberdeen 
 1,491
 2,406
 2,375
 2,268
 2,901
 1,796


 Barlinnie 
 8,707
 10,068
 12,661
 9,726
 8,272
 11,276


 Cornton Vale 
 6,381
 6,660
 5,377
 6,853
 4,051
 4,027


 Dumfries 
 5,052
 3,397
 3,028
 2,973
 4,169
 2,093


 Edinburgh 
 8,553
 5,869
 7,180
 7,005
 6,507
 7,053


 Glenochil 
 10,435
 5,551
 3,700
 4,283
 3,612
 6,770


 Greenock 
 2,523
 2,639
 1,848
 2,906
 2,849
 2,227


 Inverness 
 1,258
 2,115
 1,136
 1,104
 800
 1,266


 Low Moss 
 3,874
 3,168
 1,714
 1,784
 1,410
 2,221


 Open Estate 
 1,665
 1,514
 1,611
 2,623
 2,557
 2,152


 Perth 
 5,721
 4,126
 4,797
 3,780
 4,500
 5,343


 Peterhead 
 1,698
 2,211
 1,440
 2,788
 3,202
 2,654


 Polmont 
 5,940
 6,418
 4,892
 8,702
 5,415
 4,488


 Shotts 
 5,749
 7,664
 9,006
 9,773
 5,505
 4,571

Prison Service

Margaret Mitchell (Central Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what the street value was of drugs seized in prisons, broken down by prison, in (a) 1997, (b) 1998, (c) 1999, (d) 2000, (e) 2001, (f) 2002, (g) 2003, (h) 2004 and (i) 2005 and what the figure is for 2006.

Cathy Jamieson: I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service to respond. His response is as follows:

  This information requested is not available. Drug seizures are handed over to the police for them to test and they then become evidence in any criminal proceedings that may take place. We do not receive information from the police on their street value.

Public Appointments

Stewart Stevenson (Banff and Buchan) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will list for each year since declaration of political affiliation became mandatory as part of the system of appointments to public bodies in Scotland the (a) total number of appointments made, (b) number of appointees who declared a political affiliation and (c) number of these appointees affiliated to each political party.

Tom McCabe: I refer the member to the answers to questions S1W-20118 on 26 March 2002, S1W-24411 on 17 April 2002 and S1W-25468 on 30 April 2002 which explains why annual data for part of the period in question (July 1996 to March 2001) is not available. I also refer the member to the answer to question S2W-27465 on 14 August 2006, which provided the requested information for the period from 1 April 2004 until 31 May 2006. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.search .

  The following table details the number of board members of public bodies regulated by the UK Commissioner for Public Appointments who, on appointment or reappointment between 1 April 2001 and 31 March 2004, declared political activity.

  

 
1 April 2001 to 31 March 2002
1 April 2002 to 31 March 2003
1 April 2003 to 31 March 2004


 Total number of appointments made in period (including reappointments)
 273
 253
 220


 Total number of appointees declaring party political activity
 65 (24%)
 61 (24%)
 32 (14%)


 Conservative
1 made to an Advisory NDPB (0.4%).3 made to a NHS body (1%).
 5 made to Executive NDPBs (2%).
 3 made to NHS Bodies (1%).


 Labour 
8 made to Executive NDPBs (3%).6 made to Advisory NDPBs (2%).29 made to NHS Bodies (11%).
22 made to Executive NDPBs (9%).8 made to NHS Bodies (3%).
8 made to Executive NDPBs (4%).6 made to Advisory NDPBs (3%).5 made to NHS Bodies (2%).1 made to a Public Corporation (0.4%).


 Liberal Democrat
1 made to an Executive NDPB (0.4%).1 made to an Advisory NDPB (0.4%).5 made to NHS Bodies (2%).
 10 made to Executive NDPBs (4%).
1 made to an Advisory NDPB (0.4%).1 made to an NHS Body (0.4%).


 SNP
1 made to an Executive NDPB (0.4%).1 made to an Advisory NDPB (0.4%).4 made to NHS Bodies (2%).
5 made to Executive NDPBs (2%).1 made to an Advisory NDPB (0.4%).
2 made to NHS Bodies (0.9%).


 Other
1 made to an Advisory NDPB (0.4%).4 made to NHS Bodies (2%).
9 made to Executive NDPBs (4%).1 made to an Advisory NDPB (0.4%).
1 made to an Executive NDPB (0.4%).4 made to NHS Bodies (2%).



  The above data was taken from the returns on political activity supplied to the Office of the UK Commissioner for Public Appointments.

Schools

Mrs Nanette Milne (North East Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive how many full-time school nurses worked in schools in each year since 1999.

Mr Andy Kerr: The following table lists the number of Whole Time Equivalent 1 school nurses in Scotland between 1999 and 2005 (the most recent figures) at September of each year:

  

 
 1999
 2000
 2001
 2002
 2003
 2004
 2005


 Number of Qualified School Nurses 
 277.5
 289.0
 309.8
 302.6
 294.0
 300.7
 305.2



  Source: ISD Scotland.

  Note: 1. Whole-time equivalent adjusts head count staff figures to take account of part-time staff.